1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for controlling the fine movement of delicate instruments such as cameras, telescopes, or surveying instruments mounted upon a base, and particularly to device for controlling the fine movement of delicate instruments utilizing a resilient retractable cord to effect such movement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previously, professional and amateur operators of instruments such as cameras, telescopes, and surveying instruments commonly used their hands to move and make fine adjustments to the instrument. Typically, these instruments are mounted on a base, such as a tripod. FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D show prior art examples of an operator 105, operating cameras 102a (in FIG. 1a), 102b (in FIG. 1b), 102c (in FIG. 1c), and a telescope 106 using his hands 110. Making fine movements of an instrument by using the hands of the operator can cause unwanted vibrations and large overcompensated movements in the instrument. If the instrument is a camera, the video footage can have unwanted vibrations simply because the operator's hand rests on the tripod's handle in anticipation of a subject's movement. To compensate for the subject's potential movement, the professional videographer will often set the camera shot so that the subject has room to move within the camera frame. Otherwise, the videographer is forced to touch the camera and tripod in order to follow the subject. As mentioned above, this contact with the camera and tripod invariably causes unwanted vibrations in the video footage. Therefore, professional videographers are taught not to touch either unless the subject moves or until the videographer is ready to establish the next camera shot. Specifically, in the fields of cinema, video and television, these unwanted vibrations and jerky camera movements produce problems that persist into the editing studio. In the editing studio, the video editor has to creatively use editing tools to cover up these problems by either cutting out, freezing and slowing the image caught, or by changing the image and footage to produce an acceptable a story for television. If there are no other camera images available then the viewers are forced to watch unsteady video, and the permanent record of the video images is of poor quality.